Omidyar, EchoVC back hotels.ng with $1.2mln

Nigeria’s largest hotel booking website, hotels.ng, landed a $1.2 million in a Series A investment round from Omidyar Network and EchoVC‘s Pan-Africa Fund last week. The company received $225,000 in seed funding in 2013 from Lagos-based Spark.ng. Neither the size of the stakes nor the valuation of the company were disclosed.

Hotels.ng has built is hotel network to cover more than 7,000 hotels across Nigeria. “We’ve spent three years travelling extensively in across Nigeria, meeting with and speaking to hoteliers, guest house owners and travelers alike. Using this intelligence, we have built a platform centered on what works for them.” Founder & CEO Mark Essien said.

The fresh capital will be used help the company achieve the next stage of its growth plans, consolidating its market position in Nigeria as well as expanding the service into other African markets. The service provides detailed information including images, price per night, room availability, hotel amenities, location as well as user reviews and ratings. Travelers can make and pay for reservations through a secure online payment portal at hotels which have been vetted by hotels.ng staff.

Since its founding, the company has grown to employ 34 people and made an operating profit at in 2014.